how mamy silkie chickens can you fit in a 6x6 run

[Abigail alice]

Hi weve got 5 silkie hens and are getting a 6x6 run for them and was just wondering how many would fit in

 

[Free Feather]

That sounds way too small. The rule of thumb on here is ten square feet in the run per bird, but I would never go by that. Chickens need space to move around and to give the plants a chance to grow. If you are free ranging them all day, you could fit three to five in there. If not, and you intend to keep them in the run, you need something way bigger, like 250-500 hundred square feet, where you would be best off just building your own from t posts and fence. You could cram them all in there, and never let them free range, but they would be pretty miserable, and that is the truth.

 

[donrae]

36 square feet is going to be pretty tight, even for smaller docile birds like silkies. Even 4 birds in that space could cause issues. If you spend time in the flock management thread, so many behavioral issues stem back to overcrowding. Make their debugger or get fewer birds. You won't regret it when you have a nice harmonious flock.

Minimum space you want for 5 birds is a 20 square foot coop and 70 square foot run. Easier to go big when you start as opposed to trying to add on later when you've got birds in distress.